Fairy Tale
by MystiklSushi
Summary: Magic comes at a price. As does happiness. And more often than not, that happiness comes at the expense of another. Fantasy PruCan AU
1. Once Upon a Time

Axis Powers Hetalia - PruCan

* * *

**_Fairy Tale_**

_Chapter 1 _

* * *

Happily Ever After.

Many people have gone in search of what would lead them to a happy ending, a forever of bliss, a lifetime free of struggle or hardship. Few have not dreamed of such a thing for themselves, imagining on and on the shape that future might take. Love, riches, power. But often discounted is the hardship or struggle in reaching such an end. Or even the hardships that would lead those to dream of such a future for themselves, granted magically.

Magic comes at a price. As does happiness.

More often that not, happiness of one comes at the cost of another. Unhappy stepsisters. The death of a monarch. Unrequited love. For every person that manages to attain a happily ever after, there are many left in their wake whose lives are utterly ruined.

* * *

The apple dropped to the floor with a hollow sound. The polished red skin bitten away in a single spot to reveal crisp juicy flesh beneath. With a single bite of forbidden fruit, Matthew had died.

Gilbert watched from the doorway with barely contained disgust. He had done it again. Watched as his companion gave himself up so easily for a stranger. A pair of strangers this time. Selfish whelps hadn't even had the courtesy to look back once they'd escaped and the magic on this place had dissolved. The malignant spirit that had been trapped was free as well.

A happy end for almost all. Again. _Hooray._

But disgusted as he was with the boy whose corpse lie on the floor, Gilbert was more disgusted with the fact that he needed him. Needed him and his stupid miracle magic.

Long claws flexing, he picked up the fruit that had been so poisonous to the other. His keen sense of smell could pick nothing up of toxins, nothing other than the fresh scent of fruit and the lingering of musty gingerbread that would likely permeate the house for years to come. There was nothing here to tell him that the apple was dangerous. And why should there be? The magic in it was reserved for the stupid boy dead on the floor. And as soon as Gilbert had finished his end of the bargain, it would be a regular apple all over again. Same as the three times this had happened before.

He took a bite, only recently accustomed to the fit of the teeth in his jaw. Not a twitch from Matthew, but some of the pallor left his face. Another bite and there was a second heartbeat in the room. Slowly signs of life began to come back together. Breath. Movement. Gilbert noted with a frown that it was taking longer each time. It had only taken one bite with the old man and his petrified son. Not much more for the kid with the beans. The girl with the odd glass shoes had taken almost a quarter. This time he'd eaten about half before the blonde stirred.

Unsettling. At this rate, Gilbert thought, his chances of getting his wish were dwindling. He was going to have a few things to say the next time the other boy wanted to go and be a goody two shoes and stick his nose into other people's problems. All those other people were going to have to wait in line. He'd done more work than all of them combined to try and get at one of the miracles that Matthew could dish out. And even still he was no closer than he'd been back at the beginning. Damn frustrating is what that was.

The apple was little more than a core by the time the blonde groaned himself awake. Gilbert hadn't needed to eat it all, but waiting for the dead to come back to life lost luster after the first few times you'd seen it.

"Hey." It was time to get up and get moving. They were wasting time. They had been doing nothing but wasting time since they started on this stupid fruitless journey and Gilbert was no closer to his goal than when he had first agreed to go along with the slight boy with too-big violet eyes.

The blonde in the floor blinked the sleep from his eyes, looking all the world as if he'd just woken from a nap instead of having just died and come back. Even yawned and combed a hand through a halo of messy adolescent curls. Gilbert didn't see how a person could be anywhere near _normal _with something like that happening over and over. He himself didn't think the kid was right in the head at all, really. But Matthew, who had died at least three times that he had witnessed and probably a handful more before that, was seen as the normal one of them, and he was the freak. It was just the way magic worked. Gilbert hated magic.

"Here's your stupid apple," he crouched low, waving the gnawed-on core in Matthew's face. His long tail brushed the ground behind him. "You were out for so long that I got bored and ate the whole fucking thing." He'd sat and chewed up the whole thing even though he hated fruit. He was supposed to be a carnivore. Carnivores did not chew up life-giving apples for weird kids with a penchant for dying and spewing miracles at strangers.

To his utter infuriation, the kid had the nerve to smile at him as he sat up, dusting his breeches and straightening his cloak as if it were an every day occurrence to rescue fat children from witches and transform candy back into houses by dying in the floor. It was actually becoming more annoying with each time. That innocent smile, like he hadn't caused tons of trouble and deviated from their original destination and prolonged Gilbert's time under the curse just that bit longer while giving away his magic to a couple of annoying kids who had done nothing to deserve the help. That smile was really starting to get to him.

"Thank you."

Gilbert chucked the core into the shadows to rot. Damn kid.

He wished, not for the first time, that he did not need him or his stupid miracles.

* * *

Matthew took a deep breath as they made their way back to the road. He knew these detours were starting to wear on his traveling companion, but found that he couldn't help himself. The terms of the curse did not require him to help every person that asked, but he found it was impossible to refuse when he found people in dire circumstances. Their stories or cries for help tugged at his heart and he found that he did not mind paying the price to give them a bit of happiness. As long as Gilbert held his end of the bargain, everything would work out.

Temporary death in return for giving others a release from their suffering seemed a small price to pay. So long as he was revived every time.

He snuck a look at boy who kept him breathing on their journey. He was taller and older by a little and had a scar on one cheek that he wouldn't talk about. His eyes were tired, and they sometimes made him look older than he really was. Matthew hadn't been able to work out exactly how old the other was just yet, but he had a few guesses that were pretty close to the mark based on actions and maturity. He was also under a curse, though utterly different from Matthew's own. Gilbert was a transformed prince. When he had first demanded that Matthew use his power (how the other knew of it, he could only guess), he'd asked him to first explain in detail about the curse. It didn't matter either way for him to make the magic work, but he was curious about the stories behind each person he helped. And Gilbert's case interested him a great deal.

Gilbert was apparently the first born heir to the throne in his father's kingdom. An old crone had come begging to the castle one night and Gilbert had turned her away himself. The crone turned out to be a powerful sorceress, and at the indignity shown to her by the prince, turned her magic against him as repayment. A beastly form to match the beast within, Gilbert had quoted with sarcastic disdain and a hint of regret. The sorceress bestowed him with half of the marking appendages of a wolf. He fled the kingdom, partly for fear that he would be locked up due to his animalistic features. The other part of him sook revenge or a cure, whichever came first or both if he could manage. He had been relieved to find that the senses he needed for survival had come with the change to his appearance. His basic senses had been heightened and his claws and teeth were sharp and strong. But for the physical power he had gained, he had lost so much more in terms of ruling power. And that was where Matthew came in.

Matthew's curse was not something that was easily found out. It had taken a great deal of trouble for Gilbert to track him down. People who could perform miracles tended to attract their own fame, but with the conditions that came with Matthew's power, it seemed that those he helped preferred to stay tight lipped. It made a happy story remarkably less so when it is revealed that the cost was the life of a young boy. But keeping it a secret was something that suited the boy just fine, and if he could help it (with Gilbert around it was no problem to do so), he rarely revealed the conditions of his miracles. Dead and back and nobody any the wiser. Very few who even realized what they owed to the young man who listened to their sad stories or their hopes and dreams. If they were able to make the connection, it was to a corpse. Matthew did not want fame or anything like it. There was very little he wanted for himself, but that was the thing he was journeying for. His own version of a happily ever after.

And then he had been accosted by the transformed prince, who had been told that he could help him, but not the circumstances of how he could help. Gilbert had known nothing of the rules of the curse, and seemed shocked at the price of a wish. Matthew struck a deal with him, once he'd heard out his story. The protection of his strength and claws to the end of his journey in exchange for his wish. Of course, he had to reverse the enchantments along the way as well. The cursed prince agreed hesitantly, and they had been traveling together since.

Gilbert himself was not such bad company, Matthew reflected, if one got to know him. He couldn't say he really knew the other very well as of yet, but he was working on it. Slowly but surely. He wondered about the other's unusual appearance, at how much of it was curse and how much was by birth. Pale skin and silvery hair (or was it fur?), red eyes that could pierce his soul. There was also the matter of the scar on his face. He often caught himself imagining what the other boy must have looked like before. If in fact he was actually blonde or brunette or what the serious set of eyes would look like in shades of blue or green or brown. He couldn't ask. Not without putting himself in danger. But he was curious and often tried to tease the secret out of his face when he thought Gilbert wouldn't notice. And on occasion that he was caught, he would feign innocence and ask about something just beyond the other's shoulder. Even more interesting would be if the sorceress hadn't had much imagination, Matthew thought, and left the prince essentially as he was.

Personality-wise, the prince was either cold or hot. He ran in extremes at all times. His anger was blistering and his indifference was freezing. If he did not want to explain himself, it was safe to say that he would not do so. But Matthew was learning how to read his moods. Indifference was often undertoned by loneliness, and the focus of his anger was not always what it seemed. He was an extremely fascinating person.

Unfortunately, not everyone was so understanding. It was difficult for the two to find proper lodging or provisions because of either Gilbert's appearance or temperament, and so they were often forced to make camp and find their own food. Tonight looked like it would be a similar sort of evening for the two young travelers.

* * *

Thank you very much for reading! Chapter two should be appearing soon!


	2. The Forest and Three Little Pigs

**Fairy Tale**

**Chapter 2**

**The Forest and Three Little Pigs**

* * *

"Do you think it will rain?"

Gilbert sniffed the air, but not before rolling his eyes at the question. The forest they were traveling through was so dense they could scarcely tell daylight from evening. It was not the first thing that should have been on his mind. "Shouldn't you be more worried about dinner? Or finding a decent place to camp for the night?"

"I'm sure we'll find something. Those are things we have some control over." Matthew switched his pack to the other shoulder, adjusting his cloak to cover it accordingly. He could barely see in the gloom ahead. Gilbert's night vision was thousands of times better than his, and his voice was a beacon. "I was just wondering."

Gilbert snorted. After a few more paces, he answered over his shoulder, "shouldn't rain. Anything still on you?"

"Some nuts, a chunk of that dried meat from the last village we went through, and a turnip."_ And three apples_, he added mentally, but those didn't need mentioning. "And a few matches."

"Save the matches. A fire in here would be stupid." It would show for miles around in the murk, and Gilbert did not want the company it would bring. He grabbed the boy he was supposed to be protecting and dragged him off the trail by the wrist. Time to camp. The whole place reeked of something ominous, and he would just as soon they were out of these damn woods, but they would be walking for a while yet by the feel of things. Better to be well rested before they tried to go it any further. The inky black of a hollow tree showed a shade darker than the surrounding gloom. Gilbert dropped Matthew into it with little grace."Stay here and don't do anything dumb." And with nothing else to say, he took off.

Matthew stuck his tongue out in the direction he supposed Gilbert had taken off. The drop hadn't hurt him, exactly, but he didn't appreciate being tossed around like a sack of potatoes._ Don't do anything dumb_, he'd said. So that meant he was supposed to sit still and quiet and not attract the attention of whatever lived in this forest that was likely to try and eat him. As if he would do otherwise without the warning.

He sighed, feeling out the space he had been dumped into. The trunk of the tree behind him was rubbed smooth to the touch, obviously not the work of nature. It was wide, too. With his legs drawn up to his chest, he thought that even Gilbert could fit in here with him, if not a little snugly. The ground below him was swept clean. Probably recently. He swallowed at his suddenly dry throat, hoping that who or whatever had hollowed out the tree was not going to be angry with him for using it without permission. Aside from a little pen knife, he had nothing on him for protection. At times like this, he tended to rely on negotiation to get out of tight spots. So if the owner of the tree was angry with him, Matthew could not help but hope it would at least be a little reasonable about it.

He need not have worried. Gilbert was back in the space of a few minutes, dropping their oilskin full of fresh water into his lap along with a small fish that still had a bit of wriggle in it as he joined Matthew in the small space. As he'd thought, they both fit, even with the fluffy tail in the mix. Gilbert's ears just brushed the top of the hollow. Matthew wrinkled his nose at the flopping, but his hunger had the better of him even with no fire.

"There's a shallow stream not too far from here. We'll get more in the morning and we can save the dried stuff for down the road," Gilbert informed him. He had a general distaste for anything but fresh meat, but put up with the supplies when he had to. Picky eater or no, starving was not on his list of things to do. It seemed he'd managed to catch two fish, which meant they didn't have to try and share just one. Gilbert's instincts were getting better, then. They ate the raw things quickly (Matthew was still adjusting to the taste of things raw and unprepared, but knew better than to complain; better a fish than something bigger when it was freshly dead) and buried the bones a little ways away to keep things from getting up too much of an interest in them. The water tasted a little murky, but it washed things down well enough. It was preferential to the more bitter internal bits of the fish at least.

Matthew tugged his cloak tight around him to keep the early autumn chill out, glad for the shared body heat in the small space. No breeze made it into the dense forest, and everything was still and quiet. No insects or night noises permeated the eerie stillness. Just the sound of his and Gilbert's quiet breathing echoed against the wood around them. Soon, the spaces between breath became longer, and they slept there, shoulder to shoulder until morning.

* * *

The night passed them up without event, and when they clambered out of their little hideaway and got a good stretch, both boys were well refreshed. Indeed, the dense forest passed quickly into thinner trees and patchy sunlight after only half a day's walk, and by the evening they were passing out of the edge of it and greeted the sunset against sparsely populated hills. It was a far cry from civilization, but if they sent Matthew to request supplies or lodging, they could probably get on comfortably.

The first house they came upon, curiously, was built from straw.

"I wonder what sort of person thought it would be a good idea to make their whole house out of straw. A roof, I could understand, but the walls too?" The whole place seemed to sag a bit toward the middle. Matthew could not imagine it was very sturdy. A medium gust of wind might knock it over sideways, and a cooking fire was simply out of the question. It seemed a very impractical place to live.

"I don't really care what kind of idiot is in there. Just knock on the door and stare at them with your big baby eyes and see if you can wring anything out of them with sympathy or something," Gilbert snorted. They had learned that it was better if he kept somewhat out of sight when they begged food or lodging. If his appearance didn't ruin their chances, his personality and sharp tongue did them in. "And try not to die again, would you."

"No promises," Matthew answered back airily. He was getting used to the jibes and in his worse tempers found himself answering them with some jabs of his own. Gilbert was shooed off the drive and back onto the makeshift road where he waited impatiently.

The blonde wondered at first whether he should knock on the door (it looked as if it might not withstand even being opened), but the decision was made for him as he drew close enough to be in the shadow of the little house.

"S-stop!"

Surprised, Matthew stumbled a few steps back, landing with little dignity on his backside. The voice had not been a loud one, but it was shrill and not entirely human. "I'm sorry?"

"Don-don't come cl-closer," the small voice squealed at him from inside the little straw house. It had hushed to something just above whisper tones, as if being too loud was dangerous. The walls creaked in the breeze. Matthew supposed there was something to that idea.

"My friend and I," Matthew heard the scoff from the road, but ignored it and continued, "are looking for either food, lodging, or directions. Can you offer us any of those things?"

There was silence from the house.

"Please?"

A bit of nervous snuffling. Matthew thought he could see a short pink snout between the cracks of the door.

"Directions, or I'll fucking knock your house in around your piggy little ears."

"_Gilbert!_"

The commotion from inside mixed with the bout of yelling and an ill timed gust of wind came together at an unfortunate unison. There was a creak and a snap, followed by the choked sobbing of the little pig inside the house. None of them really heard the soft thump as the walls fell, almost comically, in four separate directions. The bundles of straw that had made up the roof rolled down to follow, their support ties having come loose. Nothing but a sad framework of a house was left behind, with a tearfully nervous little pig standing in the center. Matthew couldn't help but feel sorry for the thing. He scrambled to stand back up and apologize.

"Oh. Oh-! I'm so terribly sorry about your house! I had no idea something like this...Gilbert, would you apologize or something?"

But when he turned to his traveling companion he saw him smirking, his sharp fangs flashing in the fading sunlight. The piglet must have seen it too, because he hit the ground in a dead faint. Matthew pinned the other young man with an accusatory glare.

"That was completely unnecessary."

As unnecessary as it had been, the damage was done (in a fair number of senses). And since it_ had_ been their fault, Matthew wanted to take responsibility. He had crouched down next to the piglet, patting at the little tuft of blonde hair sprouting between his ears.

"It isn't our fault the dumb pig's a little coward. We're leaving him."

"We could leave him if there was a safe place to leave him in, but as you've kindly knocked in his house-"

"I did not** knock in** the little bastard's house!"

"You may as well have," Matthew had gone stubborn and Gilbert had the awful feeling he was about to get his way again."And if we just leave him here in the open, we may as well have killed him. Next to those woods...we were lucky last night, but that's all it was, I reckon. Neither of us is an enchanted pig. We'll take him to a neighbor, and if he wakes up before we get there, he can take himself. Deal?"

If the prince refused the deal, he knew what would happen. He'd already put in too much work to let the petulant little miracle worker just walk away without properly changing him back first. Grudgingly, he turned his back on the boy.

"Die again and I'm leaving you both to be eaten."

Matthew beamed as he hoisted the watermelon-sized piglet into his arms, happy that Gilbert had seen the right of his way.

"Thanks."

* * *

They had only followed the road for a slow pace of ten minutes (heavier than he looks, Matthew insisted), when they came upon a second little shack made of bundled sticks. It looked only slightly less likely to blow over in the wind than the straw hut had. The residents of this part of the country seemed remarkable at choosing poor building materials. The sun had already dipped below the horizon, leaving them wrapped in a dim twilight.

"Alright. Let's dump it here and get this over with," Gilbert flourished a clawed hand at the poorly constructed hovel. "And don't talk to whoever's inside. Everytime you stick your nose into people's business you end up dead on some stranger's floor."

"Charming." Matthew rolled his eyes, shifting the comatose piglet's dead weight to his other arm. "Stay here and behave yourself."

Matthew missed whatever face the other pulled as he stepped closer to the threshold. He didn't dare chance knocking on the door. If he was the one that knocked in the second house, he would never hear the end of it.

"Excuse me," he called politely, arms straining with the heavy little piglet. "Is anyone home? Your neighbor ran into a bit of trouble, and...we've brought him over." The door creaked open a crack, and a cautious pink nose poked out. Matthew could just make out a cautious pair of watery porcine eyes and a bit of brown tufty hair in the dark of the house.

"Which neighbor did you bring?" The voice that came out was high, but not nearly as thin as the first pig's terrified stutter had been. It was actually fairly pleasant sounding, for a pig.

"I'm sorry. I don't know his name, but his home was made of straw just down the way. His walls fell out and his roof fell in and my traveling companion and I couldn't leave him there in good conscience. He's, ah. Fainted from the stress, it seems." An impatient noise came from the road. "We'll just leave him in safe hands and-" The second pig suddenly let out an alarming squeal.

"Oh! No, no! Here is not safe hands! I mean, that is to say, I know him because he's my brother and I'm thankful you've carried him all the way over here and caused yourself trouble, and if it had been any other neighbor but one of my brothers I would gladly do something, but this is not a safe place for two pigs to be at once!"

Perplexed, Matthew shifted his burden once again, feeling that if this conversation took too much longer, his arms would fall off. Strained, he inquired, "What do you mean?"

"It's a rule. We're being punished. I can't say more, but he can't come in! Oh, but he won't be safe out there either, with the wolf that's about..." Gilbert's patience had run dry with that final statement.

"Yeah, well keep chattering away and you're not safe with the wolf right_ here_." He made for Matthew, intending to get him to drop the dead weight and get moving out of here before they found out what garbage of a sob story the pig brothers would throw at them and they were forced to deviate again from their route. And, as could well be expected from sudden movements from a boy who struck such a terrifying figure in front of a creature already in a fair state of panic, with said creature holding tight to an unstable structure of bundled sticks, another disaster struck.

The sticks had come unstuck from the ground and the whole structure tumbled to pieces on the ground, leaving the second little pig in hysterics, crying that he was in no way delicious.

Neither Matthew nor Gilbert paid him much mind over their own shouting match.

"If you could just hold your temper!" The prince bristled as the blame for destruction was thrown at himself again.

"I wouldn't have to hold my fucking temper if _you_ didn't have to go sticking your nose where it doesn't belong! If you could just mind your own business we wouldn't be in this mess! I _told you_ not to talk to them!"

"Well you_ told me_ to ask for help in the first place! And then you made it our business _again_ when you butted in and purposely intimidated them both and destroyed their only shelter from wild animals, Gilbert! Leaving them alone after that is the same as murder!" Matthew threw his hands wide, exasperated.

"Yeah, well, I thought maybe you'd like to have some company, since you seem to enjoy dropping dead all the time for other people's benefit! Jumping at the chance to find a new reason to off yourself and wait for me to clean it up. You're a real fucking saint!"

They were suddenly an inch away from one another. Gilbert had struck a nerve.

"Fine! I may jump in here and there, but at least I'm trying to do some good where I'm needed! At least I don't have to be blackmailed into helping someone other than myself! I'm starting to wonder if there is a single bit of good in you!"

"Oh, good. You know that I'm not hanging around because of some sort of shit sentiment for helping people, but because I need you to get this damn curse off! Maybe you aren't as completely oblivious as I thought you were!"

In the quiet space it took for Matthew to start churning up an appropriate comeback, a snuffling voice piped in.

"You're not a whole wolf."

The two boys had forgotten about the company that had finally gotten their wits back about them. Even the little blondish pig had come back around to a shivering wakefulness and was clinging to his brother for dear life.

"No shit," he shot back, fury boiled back down to irritation. The interruption had taken the heat out of the fight. Meanwhile, Matthew was looking a bit sullen from having missed the last word.

"No, what I mean to say is," The pig with the brown tuft amended, "You're not the wolf we're hiding from. The one that can get us if we're outside of our enchanted houses."

"What a nice thing for all of us," Gilbert simpered, itching to get out of there before they wasted further time. "I'm not going to viciously maul you and you're not going to ask us for any favors so that we can get back on the road." He roughly snatched up Matthew's pack and gestured for him to get moving.

"Wait!" The bigger of the pigs squealed, "the wolf isn't always a wolf! And we're not always pigs! If you're looking to get that curse off you, we know someone who may be able to help."

The two boys exchanged a look; Matthew's dubious and Gilbert's calculating. Help never came for free, but if the price was easier to pay than what he was now...

"It's t-tr-true!" The little one piped up, seeming to have found his voice again. "There's a m-m-man near here who knows some m-magic. He made us our houses t-to keep the w-w-wo-wolf away from us."

"Inside the houses, we're human again. If we want to be safe, we'll need to go see him. If he can make us from all-pig to all-people, he can certainly do something for you since you're halfway there already. We'll show you the road. It isn't far."

Matthew turned to Gilbert, noting the way he seemed to be turning the offer over in his mind, considering it for how much trouble it might be over how much reward it might gain. "What do you want to do?" He was afraid for the answer, feeling a little stab of betrayal that the other boy would change his mind so easily just to get what he wanted. It wasn't as if Matthew had exactly thought they were friends, but he had hoped that traveling had created something of a stronger bond than this.

"You wanted to help them, right? Why don't we show them the goodness of our hearts and play escort for our new friends to the magician." Gilbert was challenging and mocking him, he knew. Maybe it would be a good riddance. But he couldn't drop the niggling feeling that something was wrong with the situation.

"That's our answer then. We'll help you."

* * *

To continue.

Thank you for reading!


	3. Goldilocks

**Fairy Tale**

**Chapter 3  
**

**Goldilocks  
**

* * *

The unlikely band had only walked a short distance down the darkening road before coming up on a third little hut; this one made of bricks. Like the first two, it seemed rather poorly constructed. Each brick, instead of being laid with care and cemented in place, was haphazardly stacked. Matthew thought it looked rather like a set of building blocks he'd had when he was younger. They'd been a gift from his father. As a boy, he'd spent hours constructing towers and knocking them down. From the looks of it, this hut was probably just as easily toppled over as his old toy.

"Our other brother lives there in that house," supplied the brown-tufted pig as they passed the makeshift drive or scraped earth. "He's the eldest of the three of us."

"S-s-suppose we should stop i-in and t-tell him where we're going?" The runty pig chewed at the end of his hooves.

"If he's safe and sound we shouldn't bother him. He'll only get upset if he knows we're-"

"LATCH!_"_

_CRASH._

The tremendous sound of the shoddy brick building falling froze them all in their tracks. Gilbert's ears flattened to his skull to shut out the noise until the last brick had rolled to a still. Matthew was looking guilty over the unintended loss of yet another home. The two little pig brothers were horror struck, the youngest looking as if he might fall faint again at any second.

And there in the middle of the rubble stood a third pig, bewilderment showing in his bespectacled eyes.

"Talk about a family resemblance," Gilbert muttered, unsticking his ears and shaking the noise from them. His words shook the others out of their momentary shock, and the two brothers scrambled to help the third out of the shambles of his former home.

"Litany, Latch! What on earth are you doing out after dark? I heard you on the road and when I looked out to check everything came crashing down and-" The third pig looked sadly round at the bricks scattered in the grass. "Now we're all out after dark. We're probably going to die. I'll give us ten minutes at best."

The smallest, apparently called Latch, burst promptly into tears. Litany, the middle brown-tufted one, tried his best to talk sense into the both of them.

"We're not going to die! Pull yourself together, Latch. You're alright. And you, Stoney, stop scaring him so! You know how he gets. Nobody's going to die tonight! We're going to go straight to the magic man so that we're not eaten by the great big she-wolf," Litany announced, gesturing at the two boys who had been watching the spectacle with thinning patience. "And they're going to get us there in one piece."

"If you don't get a move on, I might change my mind about all of that," groused Gilbert. Matthew pursed his lips, but otherwise remained silent. He was still stuck between being angry at Gilbert and being a bit mistrustful of the vague information the pigs were feeding them in regards to this mysterious magic man. Deciding that he could be the both together just fine, he continued on in his self-imposed silence, listening carefully..

The third pig, seemingly called Stoney, straightened up in a rather business-like manner at the information, taking in the appearance of the two strangers. He was overall unphased by the looks of the odd pair, and in fact, seemed to take Gilbert's more frightening aspects for a boon. "Well if that's the case. Chin up, Latch. We are much less likely to die tonight than I assessed. We might last a good fifteen minutes in the dark."

It took another minute of convincing their brother that they were going to remain whole and uneaten for a good deal longer than fifteen minutes, but soon after the three pigs were trotting their way ahead of the two boys, and the whole cursed band of them were on their way to the magician. Matthew was beginning to doubt more than ever the credibility of their story, all things considered. While they very surely were enchanted pigs (they could not be speaking otherwise), he was having a time deciding what part of their story he did not like.

If the magician they were on their way to visit was powerful enough to temporarily transform them into humans, why not do it while they were all together? And for that matter, what of the poorly constructed shelters of each pig? He could see no proper protection in a house of straw, sticks, or stacked bricks that fell over at the first visitor to arrive. Especially not if they were supposed to guard against a pig-hungry wolf. They hadn't even stood against a mildly irritated half-wolf and a well intentioned youth. No, the more he thought and considered the story, it seemed that the pigs perhaps had misplaced their faith in their magic man. That, or (he supposed this thought came of too much time spent with Gilbert), they had a hidden agenda. At the very least, it was possible that there was no magic man at all, and they were just using their company for protection long enough to get to the next house along the way.

Though he did not feel in the least like speaking to Gilbert just yet, he did not want pride to lead them directly into the path of danger, should it come to that.

Quietly, as he knew he would be heard clearly by the other, he voiced his concern. "Don't you think there's something strange with this situation?"

Gilbert snorted, which caused curious glances their way from the pig trio, who had been chatting amiably amongst themselves. A good glare had them looking in the right direction again.

"Sure there is. Don't think I haven't noticed that they're hiding something."

Matthew sighed in relief, but Gilbert fixed his glare on him now.

"But if you think you can talk me out going, you're dead wrong. Any chance I get to be human again. Any chance. I'm going to take it. I've only stuck with you this far since you were looking like my best chance out. But you can fucking forget it if someone offers a better price than the mess you've dragged me into. I'm only in this for me."

"I know," came Matthew's hollow answer. He ought to have known better for starting to feel friendly towards the other boy. They only had a contract of words between them, a promise of help for help, business only. Friendship was not remotely an option. Still, he felt his feelings crumple a bit. "As long as you're aware that it sounds too good to be true. That's all."

Gilbert only grunted in response, leaving them both to stew in their own thoughts as their guides continued on with their aimless chatter.

* * *

The magician's house was not made of straw. Nor of sticks. Nor of bricks.

Instead, it cut a rather unimpressive figure with whitewashed walls and a thatch roof. But when compared to the sad state of the three destroyed houses that were said to be of his making, it had an air of confidence about it that seemed to boast '_I won't fall over at a moment's notice!'_

"Looks like this guy knows how to save the best for himself," Gilbert appraised. Matthew silently wondered if this applied to magic as well. The pigs shifted uncomfortably.

"Don't be fooled. His heart is usually in the right place..." Litany vouched uncertainly. Stoney and Latch nodded slowly behind him. Matthew shot Gilbert an dubious look, which went ignored.

"So long as the guy's magic is up to snuff, I don't give a shit about his heart." Another uncertain look was passed between the pigs.

"H-he's always managed in the p-pa-past," Latch piped up.

"We've never been eaten while under his magic, at least," added Stoney.

"He's always done fairly well right by us, so no need to doubt. Let's get moving before things move towards us," Litany ushered, trotting ahead to knock on the door. There was a flurry of noisy activity on the other side, and then silence.

"Password?"

The group crowded around the door, allowing Litany to be their spokesman.

"There isn't one."

"Wrong!" shouted the voice on the other side of the door. "There is so a password! I made it this morning."

"Feliks, you know-"

"_Don't say my name, Lit! That's what the code is for!_"

Litany sighed, casting an apologetic look over his shoulder.

"Okay. _Goldilocks, _If you know who I am, would you go ahead and just open the door, please?"

They waited a moment as the bolt clicked in the door. It swung slowly in, revealing a blonde young man with a wide forehead and shrewd eyes. Matthew noted that they were as green as a cat's as they darted over the members of the group.

"Please was the password, so I guess I have no choice but to let you in."

The door creaked open enough for the magician to sprinkle the threshold with salt. Only then did he swing it wide enough to admit them in one at a time and snapped shut as the last hairs of Gilbert's tail were inside.

"Good heavens. You're all cursified! Every last one of you," Feliks the magic man exclaimed, looking especially wide-eyed at Gilbert and Matthew in turn. "And much more than just a little salt could fix. The others I know about but you...If this guy has it bad, wolfish and hairy and quite the brute," He ran his fingers in Gilbert's tail, then reached to poke at his ears before he rounded on Matthew, inspecting behind his ears and patting at the crown of his head, "you've got it super bad! How many feet do you have in the grave, kid? I'd wage six or seven if you had more than two." He finished bolting the door and turned off to bustle through herb filled cabinets.

Gilbert watched, looking cautiously guarded. He'd been insulted and poked and prodded without permission, but if that was the only price to pay for regaining his humanity (aside from dragging the three pigs safely here), he could stomach it for now. Feliks turned suddenly back around with fistfuls of what he had been looking for and strode back across the room. Matthew opened his mouth to ask a question, but it turned out to be a great mistake. Without warning, a great handful of sage and lavender exploded in each of their faces, coating them with the mixture of strong smelling herbs.

"That should keep your bad luck contained for a little while," he announced. Then, Feliks turned quickly around, job well done, to address the pigs while Matthew choked and sputtered and Gilbert struggled to clear the herbs from his ears and nose.

"Feliks-"

"Goldilocks, Lit!"

"Goldilocks," Litany sighed, trying again. "Our houses are down again. Is there something you can do?"

"What, down? I just rebuilt them last week, you know. Buildifying safe houses isn't all I'm around to do, you know. I have my work cut out for me without having to buildificate and wolf-proof things for the three of you all the time. I'm really pretty important to the king, you know! Don't forget what I've been working on this whole time! And the princess, too! She'll have to hold on for that much longer while I get you three fixed up again!" Feliks threw his hands into the air, little flecks of sage floating down like confetti around him.

"How could we forget, with the code names and the passwords and all the work you're doing," appeased Litany. "We're really grateful, too. We know how hard our friend is working for us." He clasped his hooves around one of the magic man's hands, appealingly. "If there's anything else you want us to do. Help you think up new passwords. Organize your drawers. Cooking or cleaning. We'll help you out in turn for our houses up again. What do you say?"

Feliks's answer was cut short by a fierce clawed grip yanking him round by his shirt. He squawked as he unceremoniously landed on his backside before the seething Gilbert. "Hey, try and watch out! Do you have any idea how long it took to stitch the nice floral patterns into this shirt? Especially with finding any color of charmed thread that would suit my skin palate. And the design itself! You try finding a decent looking protecting pattern." The blonde mage pulled a face at the transformed prince.

"I don't care a flying shit about your shirt. What the hell did you do to us just now?" Green pieces of sage mixed with the purple buds of lavender flecked his hair and shirt, making him look a bit like he'd grown a fresh spring moss. Matthew wasn't faring much better, miserably rinsing his mouth with water from their oilskin. They hadn't collected anything fresh since the murky water from the forest, and his mouth tasted none the better for it.

"Wow. Thanks. Way to show your gratitude after I sealed off the bad luck that was just pouring out of your skin," Feliks sniffed, obviously quite miffed by the behavior. He stood back up, brushing himself off. "Using up some of my precious herbs and magical knowledge on you, and all for nothing. Gotta love the way it's repaid."

"Sorry, sir. He doesn't mean it," Matthew cut in before Gilbert could start off again. He did in fact mean it very much. "It's part of his curse. More or less. We're actually very grateful." It wasn't stretching the truth very much, as Gilbert's bad temper was what had led him to being cursed in the first place. Technically it could be counted as being part of it.

To Matthew's relief, Feliks's expression softened to one of understanding.

"Well, if it's a part of a curse, I guess it can't be helped," He nodded, considering the matter. "Hey, I think I know something for improving manners in chickens...it might translate well to your friend here. Why don't we give it a try!" Matthew started. While he was sure Gilbert could use some improvements in manners, he was not about to offer him up to experimental magic. That was a rather dangerous business, and he'd heard many horror stories about people who had dabbled in things they didn't know about. Many irreversible spells came from inexperienced magicians. Just a look was enough to know Feliks was obviously a novice. Briefly, he wondered if anything would come of their bad luck being "cut off". Inconspicuously, he brushed some of the herbs from his hair.

"No, thank you for offering, but no. I think we'll take our leave here. We only wanted to make sure that these fellows made it to safe shelter for the night." The pigs each gave an appreciating snuffle and Matthew smiled uncertainly, trying to read Gilbert's expression. The prince seemed torn between accepting the mage as a good for nothing novice or attempting to shake an answer to transformation out of his blonde head. The chicken spell had given him some doubts.

Feliks puffed out his chest. "No place safer around here than with the king's own former magician! Especially since I changed most of the high court into wild animals and set them loose in the forest." Litany touched a hoof to his forehead, obviously having hoped his friend wouldn't have divulged that fact so freely. Stoney and Latch both sighed, patting their brother's shoulders in pity. Most of the headache in dealing with 'Goldilocks' fell to him. "Highly experimental magic. It was meant for a surprise at the king's birthday, but...well. He was certainly surprised, you have to give me that. I did get the job done! Getting all of the people back, though. That's been the problem."

"Th-that's why Litany had thought you w-w-wou-would have a chance if you brought us h-here," Latch snuffled nervously. Stoney took over for him. "The magic is still in the experimental stages, but we've been able to return to ourselves while keeping to a strict set of rules." Litany nodded, encouraged by his brothers, and finished while Feliks beamed, "We figure he's close to a breakthrough. You're only half changed into an animal, so it might be easier if he...er...tried a few spells on you. It would mean saving our kingdom. And the princess...well. She would benefit most."

Something clicked in Matthew's head.

"Is it possible that the fierce wolf you've been talking about...She's the princess?" The pigs looked uncomfortably between one another and the smiling magician, and finally nodded.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me."

* * *

Thank you for reading!

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